Bucket having a mobile back

ABSTRACT

A bucket for a public works machine which bucket has a shell including a sole plate and a back plate, the latter being movable between a closed position and an open position relative to the shell, in the latter of which positions the back plate defines with the sole plate a passage for unloading the bucket, a connecting member being provided on the back plate and movable relative thereto between a connected position in which it forms a part of the wall of the bucket in extension of the sole plate and back plate and a retracted position in which it is substantially clear of the path of material when falling through the passage.

tlnited States Patent [191 Moreau [451 Mar. 4, 1975 BUCKET HAVING A MOBILE BACK [75] Inventor: Rene V. Moreau, Ermenonville,

France [22] Filed: Feb. 15, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 443,030

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 21, 1973 France 73.10167 [52] U.S. Cl 214/146 R [51] Int. Cl E021 3/40 [58] Field of Search 214/145, 620,146;37/118, 37/187 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,493,698 5/1924 Pearson 214/145 3,341,041 9/1967 Salna 214/145 10/1973 Arnold ..2l4/l46 11/1973 Meadows 37/187 Primary E.\'aminer-Albert J. Makay Assistant E.\'aminerR0ss Weaver Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Mason, Fenwick & Lawrence [57] ABSTRACT A bucket for a public works machine which bucket has a shell including a sole plate and a back plate, the latter being movable between a closed position and an open position relative to the shell, in the latter of which positions the back plate defines with the sole plate a passage for unloading the bucket, a connecting member being provided on the back plate and movable relative theretobetween a connected position in which it forms a part of the wall of the bucket in extension of the sole plate and back plate and a retracted position in which it is substantially clear of the path of material when falling through the passage.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ZDJENTEU 41975 sumlura BUCKET HAVING A MOBILE BACK In the field of public works equipment, use is sometimes made of buckets having a mobile back. It is advantageous to use such a bucket as, since the bucket is conventionally loaded by penetration of the leading edge into the material to be moved, unloading of the material is greatly facilitated: in fact, all that is necessary to cause the material to be tipped out is to command the separation of the mobile back from the shell of the bucket.

However, it has been found that known buckets with mobile backs have the structural feature of having a connection at an acute angle between the back and the shell, when the said back is exactly closing the said shell, as opposed to the connection with a continuous curved face of buckets with non-mobile backs. Now this acute angled connection is very unfavourable for correctloading of the bucket, as the material which has entered the bucket is not guided towards the upper portion of the back at all and piles up in the lower portion. A packing phenomenon is produced which causes a noticeable drop in the efficiency of the work carried out. When this defect had been established, an attempt was made to correct it by rigidly attaching a correctly shaped connection surface either to the shell or to the mobile back. By adopting this solution the loading conditions were effectively improved, but it was then found that this time it was unloading which was hampered by the projection formed bythe above-mentioned connection surface, which then projects into the path along which the material contained in the bucketis tipped. The present invention is intended to efficiently remedy the disadvantages of the known solutions and, in order to doso, proposes a novel bucket with a mobile back which has both good loading and unloading characteristics.

The invention therefore relates to a bucket having a mobile back comprising:

a shell, v the said mobile back mounted to pivot on the said shell about an axis, j

and a position adjustment organ, which is linked between the said back and the said shell to adjust their relative pivoting in at least two positions, in the first of which the said back bears against the shell and co-operates with it to form the complete bucket provided with a loading opening, and in the second of which this back is distant from the rear face of the shell on the side opposite the loading opening relative to the said shell, this rear face itself being opposite to the said loading opening, this rear face of the shell and the internal face of the said back in the second position defining a passage therebetween, in particular for evacuation of the material which may be contained in the shell,

the back itself comprising:

a main back which is mounted to pivot relative to the shell about the said axis,

and a connecting element which is arranged on the said main back so as to be retractable relative to the internal face of the said main back, remote from the said axis, and which can occupy two positions, one known as the connected position, in which it forms a substantially contiguous extension of the internal faces of the shell and of the main back, and one known as the retracted position, in

which it is substantially retracted relative to the plane of the internal face of this main back,

a second position adjustment organ being linked between the said connecting element and one of the shell and main back.

Advantageously, the connecting element has a cylindrical internal face with a continuous curve and, in the connected position, the said cylindrical face is arranged concomittantly substantially in the extensions of the internal faces of the shell and of the main back.

Preferably, the connecting element is mounted to pivot on the main back about another axis, which is parallel to the said axis and which is arranged on the main back opposite to the said axis.

It is advantageous for the second position adjustment organ to comprise the position adjustment organ itself and of a stop for limiting the retraction of the connecting element relative to the internal face of the main back.

In this case, the stop is rigidly attached to the main back, on which it is so arranged that the plane parallel to the said other axis and containing the ends of the internal face of the connecting element is substantially situated in the plane ofthe internal face of the main back in the retracted position of this connecting element.

Lastly, in known manner, the adjustment organ comprises a ram. 1

A better understanding of the invention will be obtained and secondary features and their advantages will become apparent, in the course of the description of an embodiment given below by way of example.

It will be understood that the description and the drawings are only given for guidance and are not limiting.

Reference will be made to the attached drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are side elevations of an embodiment of bucket in accordance with the invention, in three different conditions; and

FIG. 4 is a view along arrow F of the bucket of FIG. 1.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a given element is marked with the same reference number followed by the index a, b or c, respectively.

Thebucket of FIG. 1 consists of a shell la having a sole-piece 2a and side cheeks 3a,. and of a main back 4a, which is mounted to pivot on the shell 1a about an axis 5a. The internal face 6a of the main back 4a is substantially flat and is not connected to the internal face of the sole-piece 2a, which is also substantially flat. In addition, a connecting element 8a enables the internal faces 6a and 7a to be effectively connected.

In this case, the connecting element 8a is mounted to pivot on the main back 4a about an axis 9a. Its internal face 10a is cylindrical, with a continuous curve, along the arrow H, and is connected substantially tangentially to the internal faces 6a and 7a., while also bearing against the shell 1a and the bucket being closed in the configuration shown in FIG. 1. It will be noted that a stop 11a is attached to the main back 4a and can obstruct a portion 12a of the rear face of the connecting element to limit the pivot range of the latter relative to the back 4a.

In the same way, another stop 13a is attached to the main back 4a and can obstruct the face 14a of an arm 15a rigidly attached to the shell 1a. A ram 16a is linked by axes 17a and 18a respectively between the shell la and the connecting element 8a. The ram 16a is shown completely extended.

Lastly, the main back 4a is mounted to pivot at the end of the dipper-arm 19a of a public works machine, such as a loader, by means of an axis 20a. In known manner, a rocking lever 21a is pivoted on the dipperarm 19a about an axis 22a and is connected to the main back 40 by a rod 230, which is itself pivoted on the said rocking lever about an axis 24a and on the said main back about an axis 25a. -A ram 26a is linked between the rocking lever 21a by an axis 27a and the dipper-arm 19a. The dipper-arm 19a is so arranged that the solepiece 2a can be positioned substantially horizontal, level with the material to be loaded.

With reference to FIG. 2, the'dipper-arm has come to 19b and has been lifted, so as to arrange the bucket in the unloading position. The main back has come to 4b, its internal face 6b then being substantially vertical. The shell lb has retained the same position relative to the back 4b as that occupied by the shell la relative to the back 4a. On the other hand, taking into account the new position of the dipper-arm 19b and of the rocking lever 21b, the internal face 7b of the sole-piece 2b of the shell is inclined downwards and towards the connecting element 8b.

It will be noted that this connecting element 8b has changed its position relative to the back 4b, so that the plane P passing through the ends of its internal face b is arranged substantially in the extension of the internal face 6b of the main back, the said connecting element 8b also being arranged set back from this internal face 6b. This modification of the position of the connecting element 8b relative to the main back 4b has been caused by the partial retraction of the rod of the ram 16b into the cylinder and by the stop 11b impinging against the portion 12b of the rear face of the connecting element 8b. The bucket is already slightly open, the connecting element 8b no longer being contiguous with the sole-piece 2b and a passage 28 being formed between these two parts.

Lastly, with reference to FIG. 3, it will be noted that the dipper-arm 190 has remained in the position which it occupied in FIG. 2, the main back 40 also remaining in the same position relative to the dipper-arm 19c as the back 4b occupied relative to the dipper-arm 19b. The internal face 6c of the main back 40 is therefore substantially vertical. Retraction of the ram 16c is now complete, so that not only does the portion 120 of the rear face of the connecting element 80 bear against the stop 110, but also the face 140 of the arm c rigidly attached to the shell 1c bears against the stop 13c attached to the main back 40. The shell 10 is then so arranged that the face 7c of the sole-piece 2c is very much inclined and practically vertical. A large passage 29 is formed between the internal faces 6c and 7c, the bucket then being completely open. It should also be noted that, taking into account the abutment of the face 120 against the stop 11c, the plane R joining the ends of the face 10c of the connecting element 8c is here again, as in FIG. 2, substantially merged with the plane of the internal face 6c, the said connecting element also being arranged set back from the internal face 60.

FIG. 4 again shows the elements already described with reference to FIG. 1 and is self-explanatory. However, the presence should be noted of two rams 16a linked between the shell la and the connecting element 8a.

Modifications may also be mentioned, which are considered hereinafter as dependent upon the present invention.

Firstly, it concerns the shape of the connecting element 8a and in particular of its internal face 100. It is quite obvious that it is preferable to form the said element with the internal face 10a having the continuity of curvature shown and the possibility of tangential connection to the internal faces 6a and 7a. However, it remains possible, admitting a slight disadvantage, to simplify the shape of the connecting element St: by forming the internal face 10a as a flat face. Such a flat face would not be connected tangentially to either of the internal faces 6a and 7a, but could nevertheless be connected contiguously to the said faces and thus permit a less angular connection than that of a conventional mobile back to the sole-piece of a conventional shell, which connection generally forms an acute angle.

On another level, it is also possible to link one or more rams (or other drive organs) between the shell 1a and the main back 4a on the one hand, and between the main back 4a and the connecting element 8a on the other. In such an arrangement, which naturally leads to an increase in the number of rams necessary, it is possible to eliminate the stop 11a, just as it is also possible to control the movements of the various parts separately.

The explanation of the use of the bucket which has been described will lead to a better understanding of the advantages which are peculiar to it.

Firstly, with reference to FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that at the moment of loading the material which has already been sliced off by the leading edge of the bucket and which is arranged on the sole-piece 7a can easily fill the shell la. In fact, when it reaches the zone of the connecting element 8a, it moves onto the internal face 10a without discontinuity of form, this internal face -10a being connected to the face 7a of the solepiece tangentially. Moreover, the continuous curvature of the face 10a guides this material towards the internal face 6a of the back 4a, here again without discontinuity of form, in the direction of arrow l-I, until the bucket is effectively completely full. Loading is therefore carried out under good conditions.

The material contained in the bucket must then be unloaded. The first phase of unloading consists of arranging the face 6b much inclined and in fact substantially vertical. The material can therefore easily slide along this face 6b. However, were the connecting element 8b not retractable relative to the face 6b, it would constitute an obstruction to the evacuation of the material, which would impinge against it after sliding along the face 6b. Such is not the case with the use of the bucket described, in which the connecting element 8b has been completely retracted relative to the plane of the face 6b. Consequently, from this point of view, the conditions for satisfactory unloading have been combined, the passage 28 being perfectly clear.

It remains, in a second phase, to separate the shell from the-main back. This is the phase shown in FIG. 3. The material contained in the bucket can escape freely from it, the passage 29 being absolutely clear of obstacles. The material can slide, on the one hand, along the face of the sole-piece 2c and, on the other hand, along the face 6c of the main back 40 and along the plane R, which extends the said face 60, and be discharged through the passage 29.

In short, the proposed bucket permits entirely satisfactory loading and unloading.

It will have been noticed that, for adjusting the relative positions of the shell la, of the main back 40 and of the connecting element, the arrangement shown only requires a single group of rams 16a. This advantage is gained by adopting the stop lla. In fact, as soon as the connecting element has reached its position 8b, additional retraction of the ram 16b causes transmission of traction between the axes 17b and 18b, which traction is between on the one hand the shell lb and on the other the main back 4b, via the connecting element 8b and the stop llb. Consequently, at the moment of unloading, the ram 8b firstly has the function of retracting the connecting element 8b relative to the plane of the internal face 6b of the back 4b, and then, once this retraction has been effected, the function of opening the shell 1b relative to the said main back 4b. Moreover, it should be noted that, taking into account the masses of the various parts, it is the connecting element 812 which starts by ,being retracted.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated, but on the contrary covers all the modifications which could be made to it without departing from its scope or spirit.

What is claimed is:

1. Bucket having a mobile back comprising:

a shell,

the said mobile back, which is mounted to pivot on the said shell about an axis,

and a position adjustment organ, which is linked between the said back and the said shell to adjust their relative pivoting in at least two positions, in the first of which the said back bears against the shell and co-operates with the latter to form the complete bucket provided with a loading opening, and in the second of which this back is distant from the rear face of the shell on the side opposite to the loading opening relative to this shell, this rear face itself being opposite to the said loading opening, this rear face of the shell and the internal face of the said back in the second position defining therebetween a passage, in particular for evacuation of the material which may be contained in the shell, the back itself comprising a main back which is mounted to pivot relative to the shell about the said axis,

and a connecting element which is arranged on the main back retractably relative to the internal face of the said main back, remote from the said axis, and which can occupy two positions, one known as the connected position, in which it forms a substantially contiguous extension of the internal faces of the shell and of the main back, and one known as the retracted position, in which it is effectively retracted relative to the plane of the internal face of this main back, and a second position adjustment organ being linked between the said connecting element and one of the said shell and main back.

2. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which the connecting element has a cylindrical internal face with a continuous curvature and in that in the connected position the said cylindrical face is arranged substantially in the extension of the internal face of the shell.

3. Bucket in accordance with claim 2, in which in addition the cylindrical face is arranged substantially in the extension of the internal face of the main back, in the connected position.

4. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which the connecting element is mounted to pivot on the main back about another axis which is parallel to the said axis and which is arranged on the main back remote from the said axis.

5. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which the second position adjustment organ comprises the position adjustment organ itself and of a stop for limiting the retraction of the connecting element relative to the internal face of the main back.

6. Bucket in accordance with claim 4, in which the other position adjustment organ comprises the position adjustment organ itself and a stop for limiting the retraction of the connecting element relative to the internal face of the main back, and in which the stop is rigidly attached to the main back, on which it is so arranged that the plane parallel to the said other axis and containing the ends of the internal face of the connecting element is situated substantially in the plane of the internal face of the main back in the retracted position of this connecting element.

7. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which in known manner the adjustment organ comprises a ram. =l l 

1. Bucket having a mobile back comprising: a shell, the said mobile back, which is mounted to pivot on the said shell about an axis, and a position adjustment organ, which is linked between the said back and the said shell to adjust their relative pivoting in at least two positions, in the first of which the said back bears against the shell and co-operates with the latter to form the complete bucket provided with a loading opening, and in the second of which this back is distant from the rear face of the shell on the side opposite to the loading opening relative to this shell, this rear face itself being opposite to the said loading opening, this rear face of the shell and the internal face of the said back in the second position defining therebetween a passage, in particular for evacuation of the material which may be contained in the shell, the back itself comprising a main back which is mounted to pivot relative to the shell about the said axis, and a connecting element which is arranged on the main back retractably relative to the internal face of the said main back, remote from the said axis, and which can occupy two positions, one known as the connected position, in which it forms a substantially contiguous extension of the internal faces of the shell and of the main back, and one known as the retracted position, in which it is effectively retracted relative to the plane of the internal face of this main back, and a second position adjustment organ being linked between the said connecting element and one of the said shell and main back.
 2. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which the connecting element has a cylindrical internal face with a continuous curvature and in that in the connected position the said cylindrical face is arranged substantially in the extension of the internal face of the shell.
 3. Bucket in accordance with claim 2, in which in addition the cylindrical face is arranged substantially in the extension of the internal face of the main back, in the connected position.
 4. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which the connecting element is mounted to pivot on the main back about another axis which is parallel to the said axis and which is arranged on the main back remote from the said axis.
 5. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which the second position adjustment organ comprises the position adjustment organ itself and of a stop for limiting the retraction of the connecting element relative to the internal face of the main back.
 6. Bucket in accordance with claim 4, in which the other position adjustment organ comprises the position adjustment organ itself and a stop for limiting the retraction of the connecting element relative to the internal face of the main back, and in which the stop is rigidly attached to the main back, on which it is so arranged that the plane parallel to the said other axis and containing the ends of the internal face of the connecting element is situated substantially in the plane of the interNal face of the main back in the retracted position of this connecting element.
 7. Bucket in accordance with claim 1, in which in known manner the adjustment organ comprises a ram. 